Community Agency for Social Enquiry (CASE), 2000, 'The budgetary implications of the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act', Cape Town: CASE

The new Domestic Violence Act, passed in South Africa in 1998, is a vast improvement on the pre-existing law on family violence. Indeed, it provides protection from abuse in a wider range of relationships including parents, siblings, people in a relationship but not living together and people in a same-sex relationship. It defines abuse as sexual, physical and emotional as well as economic. Non-governmental organisation activists maintain that this act will only make a real difference to the lives of ordinary women in South Africa if the government commits enough resources for its implementation. The research documented in this paper is based on interviews with government officials and NGO representatives and focuses on the budgetary implications of the Act's implementation in the Western Cape region. It gives a detailed description of what resources need to be allocated for new activities in the Safety and Security, Justice and Welfare/Social Services government departments. These include the creation of a specialised service, training of state service providers, provision of interpreters, strengthening of services to rural areas, and the establishment of shelters.

How can domestic violence be reduced in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)? This synthesis research paper demonstrates that to make domestic violence policy work there needs to be sufficient budgetary allocations to enable the laws enacted in these countries to translate into action. Given that domestic violence is a multi-faceted problem, it requires multi-sectoral approaches and interventions, with budgetary allocations spread over different sectors. However, the evidence in the LAC countries surveyed showed that there is insufficient funding for domestic violence services and that the major funding sources continue to come from discretionary funds from ministries' budgets and international donor funds rather than from across all ministerial budget lines. A framework for monitoring budgetary allocations of domestic violence laws consists of four stages, in line with the budget process: pre-policy design stage; policy design stage; policy implementation stage; and monitoring and evaluation stage. Recommendations include the need for governments and donor agencies to help build capacity among NGOs working on domestic violence to monitor budgetary allocations; and to mainstream domestic violence spending into key sectoral projects and inter-sectoral initiatives.

Pillay, K., Manjoo, R. and Paulus, E., 2002, 'Rights, roles and resources: an analysis of women's housing rights - implications of the Grootboom case', Paper for the Women's Budget Initiative, Cape Town

Initiative, Cape Town Despite strides forward in realising housing rights, more than five million South Africans still do not have a roof over their heads. Women's access to adequate housing in particular remains constrained by discriminatory laws and practices, disproportionately affecting black women. This paper explores the issues brought up by the Grootboom community legal case claiming the constitutional right of access to adequate housing, and links it to the housing budgetary framework. A gender analysis of the housing budget is particularly difficult due to the complete lack of gender-disaggregated data. It is therefore difficult to determine to what extent the state's obligations to promote the housing needs of marginalised women have been achieved. Although housing is not exclusively a "women's issue", housing legislation, policies, programmes and budgets must address women's historical, social and economic realities. A shift from a gender-neutral to a gender-specific housing programme is recommended, initiated by a thorough gendered analysis of the current situation including identifying the needs of different groups of women. The ongoing collection of gender-disaggregated data, the development of gender indicators, and regular monitoring are also crucial for the progressive realisation of women's housing rights. See also San Francisco CEDAW Task Force work under Tools, Guidelines and Training Materials.